Gingered Venison with Carrots and Surgar Snap Peas

I've been so busy with work, I haven't been able to cook much lately (or, rather, try new recipes). My honey took pity on my poor stressed-out soul last night and made this delicious stew I found in Fitness Magazine. We actually doubled the recipe to share it with his family. I'm happy to report that they all loved it, and that's a huge compliment because he's got some very picky eaters in the clan. It was a hit!

Gingered Venison with Carrots and Surgar Snap Peas
From Fitness Magazine, April 2009, p128

Serves 6

1 ½ pounds boneless venison steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 medium carrots, cut into ½-inch slices (or use about 2 cups of baby carrots)
½ cup sliced scallions
2 garlic cloves
1 ½ cups water
2 tbs soy sauce (reduced sodium, preferred)
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 ½ tsp instant beef bouillon granules
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
3 tbs cornstarch
3 tbs cold water
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
2 cups sugar snap peas (if frozen, let thaw first)

Pull out the slow cooker. Combine venison, carrots, scallions, and garlic and put in cooker. In a medium bowl, combine the 1 ½ cups water, soy sauce, ginger, bouillon, and crushed red pepper; pour over mixture in cooker.

Cover, cook on low setting 6 to 8 hours or on high 3 to 4 hours.

If using low heat, turn to high setting. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and the 3 tbs cold water; stir into meat mixture along with the bell pepper. Cover, cook 20 to 30 minutes, or until thickened (stirring once). Stir in sugar snap peas. Serve when peas are tender (about five minutes). Serve over rice.

Guiness Pub Stew with Venison

In preparation for St. Patrick's Day (a national holiday in our home), I'm looking for a really good Guinness stew recipe. I found this on on CDKitchen. Of course, I modified it a little, most notably changing the beef to venison. I also used parsnips instead of carrots. The result was fantastic. It's a little soupier than a normal stew, but if you have some good bread to soak up the broth, you'll be happy. This recipe makes a ton, so it's a good excuse to have people over.

Guinness Pub Stew with Venison
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 pounds venison, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 large yellow onions, chopped
3 large parsnips (or 6 large carrots), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
3 bottle of Guinness Extra Stout
6 cups beef stock, unsalted if available
3 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped fine
1 salt and fresh ground black pepper

Directions
In a large Dutch oven or stew pot, heat the vegetable oil over Medium-High heat. Season the meat generously with salt and pepper, then sear on all sides for 2 minutes. Sear the meat in batches to avoid overcrowding. Remove the seared meat and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook for 15 minutes or until the onions begin to brown. Stir in the parsnips and garlic, cook for 5 minutes, and add the meat back to the pot. Stir in the Guinness and enough beef stock to cover. Add the bay leaf, molasses and Worcestershire sauce. Increase the heat to a boil, stir, and reduce to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is fork tender. Add the fresh thyme, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.

I couldn't do a total nutritional breakdown because the recipe analyzer wouldn't recognize the Guinness, so I ran it on beer. However, this has about 200 calories for a 1 1/3 cup serving.

Tunisian Venison Tangine with toasted almonds

One of the unexpected perks of getting married was that I got on the subscription list for a magazine call The Nest. It's a great lifestyles magazine with all sorts of tips on home and life. In the Winter 2008 (page 59) I came across an interesting looking recipe, but I wasn't sure I'd make it because it contained many, many ingredients that Rick doesn't like. But when he said it looked good, I went to the store.

This was one of the tastiest dishes I've made yet. I served it for some friends, and everyone went nuts for it. Definitely make this one!

The original recipe calls for lamb. The only thing I changed from the recipe is that I did not brown the meat first...venison is so lean that I find if I brown meat that's going into a slow cooker it comes out too tough. So, if you make this with lamb, you brown the lamb and then brown the veggies in the same skillet.

Tunisian Venison Tangine
1 lb venison, cubed
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbs virgin olive oil
5 parsnips, peeled and cut in chunks
2 large sweet potato, peeled and cut in chunks
1/2 cup celery, cut into 1-inch slices
2 medium onions, cut in 1 inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs cumin, ground
1 tbs coriander, ground
1/2 tsp allspice, ground
1 1/2 cups beef broth
15 oz diced tomatoes, with juice
1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
1 3-in stick cinnamon
1 dried red chili pepper
1/4 cup almonds, toasted and ground
juice and zest from 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Season venison with salt, put in slow cooker

2. Heat olive oil in skillet. Saute parsnips, sweet potatoes, celery and onion until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in garlic, cumin, coriander and allspice. Cook until vegetables are coated, about 1 minutes. Put vegetables in slow cooker

3. Put broth in skillet and bring to boil. Pour into slow cooker, including scrapings from pan.

4. Add tomatoes, black pepper, cinnamon stick and chili pepper to cooker. Cover and cook 6 to 8 hours on low, until fork tender.

5. Mix toasted almonds with lemon juice and zest in small bowl.

6. When stew is done, remove cinnamon stick and chili pepper. Stir in almond mixture and cook on high until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.

7. Serve stew on a bed of couscous and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Taco Soup with Venison

I recently participated in a recipe exchange. Alas, I believe it was with my friends where the chain fell apart...after two weeks, I've only received three recipes. But the three I got look great!

Meg Poston sent me this taco soup recipe. I don't know where she got it, but she said she's modified it over time, getting it down to it's very simple current form. It is very good. I would really classify it more of a chili than a soup, but does that really matter on a cold winter night? No, not at all.

Making this recipe also gave me a chance to do some internet research. It calls for Rotel tomatoes, which I'd never heard of. In a rare fit of sanity, I decided to find out what they are before going to the grocery store. Good thing too, because my local International Market doesn't carry them. So, what they are is a brand of diced tomatoes with green chiles. After much poking around, I found a can of tomatoes with green chiles that I suspect was the same thing (or very darn close).

Taco Soup with Venison
1 lb lean venison, cubed (stew quality meat)
1 onion, chopped
1 pkg taco seasonings
1 pkg dry Ranch seasonings
2 large cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can Rotel tomatoes, undrained
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 1/2 cups frozen whole kernel corn (or one can of corn)

I made this in a crock pot. To do that, sauté the onions in olive oil. Then put all the ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low 4-6 hours.

If you want to use the stovetop, then brown the meat with the onion in a soup pot. Add seasonings. Drain beans and corn. Add to meat along with tomatoes. Simmer until well blended and hot.

Serve with Tostitos or Fritos, sour cream and grated cheese. Eat and enjoy.

Fiesta Venison Chowder

As I sit down to find a good pot pie recipe, I thought I'd post the recipe for a yummy stew I made the day.

A little side story: the meat I used came from Rick's first big buck. Since he's doing urban hunting, he focuses on does. But this buck practically came up to him and said "shoot me," so he did (he'd already tagged two does, which in our area hunters must do before they can take a buck). Unfortunately, Bucky changed his mind about being bagged right after Rick released the arrow. The result was a hit right in the old behind. Rick didn't think the shot could possibly have been fatal, but followed Bucky anyway. Apparently, he'd managed to get a artery, so Bucky came home with him.

So, we're used to does, who are just a little more tender than the old bucks. We can usually start eating the meat in two days. That is not the case with bucks. However, this chowder was still excellent, even if the meat was a little tough. We've learned our lesson!

Fiesta Venison Chowder
adapted from the Southwester Chicken Chowder recipe in "The Best Slow Cooker Recipes"

Ingredients
1 to 2 pounds venison, cubed (the amount depends on how much meat you like in your stews...we like a lot)
1 large red pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cups frozen corn
1 1/2 cups milk (whole milk is best, but use what you like)
1 can (11 oz) cream of chicken or cream of corn soup
1 1/2 cups mild salsa verde
juice from two limes
1 can (15 oz) mild chili beans
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
tortilla chips

Put all ingredients EXCEPT the cheese and chips into a slow cooker. Cook on low for 1 to 2 hours, or until the meat is cooked through. Put in bowls and top with cheese and chips.

Serves...good question. I'd say 8, but I'm a girl. If you're feeding your hunter, then it probably serves 4.